Youth Scotland interviewed Guides Cara and Lyndsey after Betty Smith, their unit leader, reached out to share their story.

Tell us about the young person’s life before they took part in CashBack

“Cara (16) and Lyndsey (14) are at the age when many girls drift away from being Guides. They are in different years at school and have different friend groups. They both live in areas of multiple deprivation with graffiti, vandalism, drugs, and gangs of boys on street corners around the area. Cara has three younger siblings. The family have recently been rehomed, but she still shares a bedroom. Lyndsey splits her time between her dad’s new family and her mum’s flat with her brother.” – Betty

We were delighted to meet the girls who told us more about themselves and how they’ve grown into young leaders with the support of Girlguiding.

“Before Guides, I feel like I was… not too shy but I wasn’t as confident as I am now. I was very insecure, but Guides has helped me find out who I am and make friends along the way.” – Lyndsey.

“Yeah, I agree, before I started Guides I wasn’t like insecure in myself I just wasn’t sure where I stood within the unit I was in… Then I started helping with the Brownies, I worked up and I built a lot of confidence, and my leadership skills have gotten a lot better. So being a young leader and being in the Guides has helped me build my social skills.” – Cara.

What were some important moments, challenges, achievements, or turning points during their time taking part in CashBack?

“Generation CashBack support made it possible for Lyndsey and Cara and other Guides to stay at an adventure weekend. Most of the girls had never stayed away from home overnight but Cara and Lyndsey’s rapport with all the girls helped them to conquer their fears. They encouraged each girl to join in and push themselves to try adventurous activities in a girl-only group, supporting each other with no fear of being ridiculed or judged. None of them had done anything like that before. Cara and Lyndsey’s newly discovered confidence made that happen. They are kind, have a voice and are heard.” – Betty

“Yeah, it’s like the thing we all look forward to because it’s the last thing we do before the summer and it’s just like having a big sleepover with all of your friends, it’s great fun!” – Cara

“It’s not an experience that every single person would have so just us getting to have that experience is such a great opportunity.” – Lyndsey

“I remember my first time going I was so nervous (doing the zipline) and I got told by one of my leaders ‘See when you get up there, just count the trees’ because it like brings your nerves down so now that’s what I tell my Guides because it helped me to stay calm and them stay calm” – Cara

“It can be a big deal for some people and so staying away lets you see what’s out there and what you can do” – Lyndsey

How did CashBack impact them?

Cara explained how impactful Girlguiding has been to her confidence, so much so that she is now taking part in a new opportunity – Speak Out, which is Girlguiding Scotland’s youth voice forum. They are currently designing a “‘manifesto for girls’ and will campaign on this in the run up to the next Scottish election” – Girlguiding Scotland

“We’re focusing on the representation of women in the media. We’ve just started and we’re still exploring and looking about to see what we can focus our ideas on this time. So yeah, we’re trying to represent Girlguiding Scotland in the Scottish Government.” – Cara

Both girls also attended a Girlguiding Scotland event called Own Your Path, designed to support young women into employment. “It was a great day altogether, I really enjoyed it.” – Lyndsey

Cara is currently studying for her higher exams and intends on studying to become a primary teacher. She also wants to become a unit leader. “I aspire to be Betty. I’m also coaching in my gymnastics and I’m doing my Unit 1 Coaching in May – same time as my examples but we’ll push through!” – Cara

Lyndsey hopes to study acting and pursue this as her career in the future – while becoming a Girlguiding unit leader of course. “I can’t get rid of it, it’s a huge part of my life. Too much of me is Guides” – Lyndsey

Find out more about CashBack here.